http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.stpeter.org.nz en-us Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:28:07 +1300 Rocketspark http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/post/171657/views-from-the-pews-rugby-is-great-but-god-is-greater/ A few weeks back the mighty All Blacks met their nemesis, the Springboks, at Ellis Park, South Africa. The two captains, Ardie Savea and Siya Kolise, are great rivals on the field and great friends off the field. Their families meet for meals and on Sundays they go to church and worship together.Ardie Savea stands amazingly tall, one of the greatest All Blacks and leaders the sport has ever known. He openly honours God when he plays, and gazes upwards when he crosses the try line. He is not asha... Sun, 18 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/#post171657 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/post/171384/views-from-the-pews-floods-and-rainbows/ At the end of last month we re-visited a familiar Sunday School story; Noah, his family, an ark, a whole lot of animals, a flood, and a rainbow. See Genesis chapter 9, particularly from verse 12. The chapter mentions the word ‘Covenant’ several times, mainly in a discussion between God and Noah and his family. This is a very special word, repeated by God a number of times.For the purposes of today’s article, we will assume that ‘Covenant’ means a unilateral promise, non-transactional, ... Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/#post171384 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/post/171129/views-from-the-pews-the-mystery-we-receive/ He was the Word that spake it,He took the Bread and brake it;And what the Word did make it,That I believe and take it.These four lines have wandered through English history, sometimes placed in the mouth of a queen, sometimes at the pen of a poet. Their appeal is obvious. In an age that argued fiercely about what happens at the altar — transubstantiation here, consubstantiation there, and a good deal of nervous hedging in between — this little epigram simply steps aside from the quarrel. It ... Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/#post171129 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/post/170904/views-from-the-pews-coming-to-church/ Whilst recruiting for this column I spoke to many parishioners, and obtained valuable feedback. Some agreed to contribute, others felt it was not for them. In the course of one such conversation with a wise member of the congregation, he apologised, but in so doing led the discussion along another more fruitful track. We agreed that there were many who were well-qualified, but would not want to put their names to published material, especially if it went on-line. We spoke of anonymity, and how i... Sun, 27 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/#post170904 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/post/170469/views-from-the-pews-being-right/ “There are more things in heaven and on earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy” (Hamlet – Shakespeare)Age softens the connective tissues, but also perhaps one’s dogmatism. I have been struck across my (many!) decades at how human knowledge is ever expansile. The more we know, the more we find there is to discover.  Questions beget questions. Many of the world’s Ivy League universities were founded on the principle that God delights in our vigorous intellectual endea... Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/#post170469 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/post/169957/views-from-the-pews-do-we-really-need-cathedrals/ You may have been lucky enough to catch ‘Britain’s Great Cathedrals’ on Sky Arts recently. Yes, full of the usual history and architecture but six cathedrals as seen through the eyes of an Instagram-friendly young clergyman called Pat Allerton, very much the 21st Century parson. Allerton pays tribute to the architects and crafts people, but has a clear idea of what a Cathedral’s function might be in the social media age. Firstly, the building encapsulates the identity of its town or city... Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/#post169957 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/post/169685/views-from-the-pews-earth-heaven-and-the-thin-places-between/  Sometimes the world feels closer to heaven than usual —and grace becomes easier to experience.These thin veil moments come without announcement — a stillness, a shimmer, a quiet awareness that God is near. And in that nearness, grace becomes something we don’t merely recognise but actually receive.In both Māori and Celtic ways of seeing, such moments are part of the world’s natural rhythm. The land itself carries memory — whenua and earth holding stories older than we are, remin... Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/#post169685 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/post/169340/views-from-the-pews-one-long-goodbye/ Last week Sir Anthony Hopkins said:“From the moment we're born, we say goodbye to childhood, we say goodbye to adolescence, and eventually we say goodbye altogether. At the end of it all is hello, my love, and goodbye, my love. And that's the theme of life, that nothing is permanent. It doesn't make one miserable. In fact, it's a kind of solace because there's nothing I can do about it. I'm here. And one day I will not be here.”I am interested in Hopkins’ phrase that ‘nothing is permanen... Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/#post169340 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/post/168965/from-the-cathedral-choir-gabriella-schuitemaker/ The first time Gabriella Schuitemaker sang the solo Once in Royal David's City, it was, in her words, both exciting and nerve-racking. It is a moment she still treasures, one of many from nearly 13 years in St Peter's Cathedral Choir.... Sun, 23 Aug 2026 14:55:44 +1200 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/#post168965 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/post/168932/views-from-the-pews-a-consecrated-life/ “Take my silver and my gold, Not a mite would I withhold. Take my intellect and useEvery power as Thou shalt choose.”Verse 4 of Frances Ridley Havergal’s hymn above beautifully reflects the guidance in God’s word about how we are to live.  The words express a desire to consecrate one’s possessions and abilities to God, to be used by Him as He chooses. The last chapter of a very tiny, old book on my bookshelf is titled “How should we then live?” On Sundays we come to churc... Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.stpeter.org.nz/blog/#post168932